Reduced prices again! At the beginning of the new year, domestic Tesla rushed to the hot search with price reduction, the starting price of Model 3 dropped from 265,900 yuan to 229,900 yuan, and the starting price of Model Y dropped from 288,900 yuan to 259,900 yuan.
The price adjustment was so large that Tesla owners who had just picked up the car were greatly dissatisfied, and then a large number of owners gathered in many places to protect their rights, after all, no one was happy that the car they just bought, and it depreciated by tens of thousands of yuan in a blink of an eye.
In fact, the dissatisfaction of Tesla owners is not caused by a price adjustment. Since October 2022, Tesla has dropped four times in just 3 months, with a cumulative price reduction of 60,000 yuan.
In contrast, since the end of last year, many new energy brands such as BYD, SAIC Roewe, Changan Deep Blue, and Leapmotor have generally raised their prices in 2023 due to the decline of new energy subsidies and the rise in raw material prices. Tesla's big price reduction not only caused fluctuations in the new car market, but also affected the new energy second-hand car market, and second-hand car dealers and second-hand car buyers were happy and worried.
01
The logic of Tesla's price cuts
Tesla has been selling well, and in 2021 and 2022, global sales increased significantly, reaching 936,000 and 1.31 million units, respectively.
It stands to reason that the price of lithium used in power batteries has continued to rise in recent years, coupled with the hot sales of models, why does Tesla's price not rise but fall? In fact, the reason behind it is not complicated, first of all, Tesla is indeed a little unsellable, although the world's new energy vehicles are selling very hot, but Tesla has no shortage of competitors, and all regard Tesla models as their own competitive products, in terms of performance parameters to be a little ahead, in the price is more favorable, so that a considerable number of consumers are diverted.
Especially in the Chinese market, whether it is a traditional car company or a new force in car manufacturing, the speed of promoting new products is faster than the other, and the blue ocean market of new energy vehicles is directly "rolled" into the red ocean market. For Tesla, which adopts a direct sales model, without the "reservoir" of dealers, once the inventory soars, the chain reaction such as capital risks is unimaginable, and the price reduction is helpless but expedient.
Secondly, Tesla has enough room for price reduction, as the world's highest gross profit margin of the automobile company, Tesla's cost control makes Volkswagen, Toyota and other automobile giants are ashamed of themselves, coupled with the premium of luxury brands, after the price reduction is still considerable, small profits and high sales can still achieve revenue growth.
As Tesla Vice President Tao Lin said, Tesla insists on cost-based pricing. The implication is that if the cost is well controlled, the price reduction can be affordable.
According to Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the National Passenger Vehicle Market Information Association, the main reason for Tesla's price reduction is that after its technology does not have an absolute lead, a game between huge production capacity and fluctuating market demand begins.
Tesla's price cut angered a large wave of car owners who bought cars not long ago, and this wave of price cuts did not have any foreshadowing in advance, and came too suddenly. Mr. Deng, a new car owner involved in rights protection, told reporters: "The Model 3 I just mentioned, only drove more than 30 kilometers, and it dropped more than 30,000 yuan. ”
Tesla did not give any explanation to the new owner for the sudden price reduction. Tao Lin responded to this: "Tesla has adopted some relatively new concepts, such as direct sales models and price adjustment strategies, and we hope to gradually let everyone feel that these concepts are feasible." Under the direct sales model, the price is completely open and transparent, there is no discount, no markup, and everyone buys the same at the same time. ”
For the recent Tesla rights protection incident, Tao Lin believes that it may be that Chinese consumers are not accustomed to the current completely transparent pricing strategy, and as everyone slowly understands Tesla's approach, they will gradually get used to it.
02
Used car dealers cut meat and sell cars
Tesla's new car price reduction caused second-hand car merchants to cry. Wang Meng, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Automobile Dealers Association, said in an interview with a reporter from China Automotive News: "After Tesla cut prices, second-hand car merchants have been tearing up in the past few days, which is really a miserable loss." ”
"The second-hand Tesla collected in the first half of last year can be sold for more than 200,000 yuan, but now it can only be sold for about 170,000 yuan." Li You (pseudonym), a car dealer who mainly sells second-hand Teslas, told the "China Automotive News" reporter: "The price of Tesla's new cars has been reduced by 60,000 yuan, and the second-hand cars have also dropped by 560,000 yuan." Now we sell second-hand Teslas are losing money, the two that have just been sold in the past two days, a Model 3 loses 30,000 yuan, and a Model Y loses 40,000 yuan. ”
This price reduction, in addition to Tesla's second-hand cars affected, other brand second-hand cars of the same level as Tesla have also been affected. "A second-hand car owner, Xiaopeng who received more than 100,000 yuan lost more than 20,000 shots, and he had to send a circle of friends to 'celebrate the crown'. There is also a boss, before the Spring Festival, in a hurry to clear 5 second-hand NIO, originally they were almost negotiated, 3 cars have paid a deposit, now the buyer would rather lose the deposit, the car is not mentioned. Wang Meng revealed.
In addition to pure electric vehicles, Tesla's price reduction also directly impacts fuel used cars of the same price. Wang Meng introduced that the Tesla Model 3 new car after the price reduction has a very large impact on the second-hand fuel vehicle of 200,000~250,000 yuan. Throughout the BBA level, Mercedes-Benz C, BMW 3, Audi A4L and other models have a high retention rate, coupled with the relatively large discount of new cars, the price advantage of second-hand cars is not obvious, and cars within 3 years are even more difficult to find. It has to be said that after the price reduction, Tesla Model 3 and Model Y pose a great threat to second-hand cars of the same price, and the "consumer battle" between new cars and second-hand cars has faced a rigid situation for the first time. Therefore, many users who originally planned to buy second-hand BBA will not choose second-tier luxury brands such as Lexus, Cadillac, Lincoln and other second-tier luxury brands because of the source and price of the car, and directly place an order to buy a new Tesla car.
03
What will happen next?
Tesla has cut prices in a big way, and it is the second-hand car dealers who suffer losses, and the surface benefits are second-hand car consumers, but if Tesla continues to reduce prices in the future, the beneficiaries of the previous wave of price reductions may be the losers of the next wave of price reductions.
The market needs steady development, whether it is Tesla, second-hand car dealers, or consumers, achieving a win-win situation is the right way.
When interviewed by reporters, industry insiders generally believe that Tesla's subsequent price reduction is more likely. "The world is in a recession, and the severity of the recession in 2023 will be comparable to that of 2009. This means that any discretionary demand, especially for bulk consumption, will be reduced. Tesla Motors co-founder Elon Musk made it clear in a recent interview that car companies must further reduce the price of cars if they want to increase demand.
In addition to weakening demand, Tesla's costs also have room to continue to decline, and Tesla's procurement costs will further decline as lithium material prices and chip purchase prices continue to fall.
There are rumors that Tesla may reduce the starting price to 199,000 yuan after the Spring Festival. However, Tesla responded that the news was untrue. However, from the operational level and market strategy level, Tesla is indeed more likely to continue to reduce its price after the holiday.
If from the perspective of innovation ability, Tesla has passed the stage of disruptive innovation and entered the stage of continuous improvement, which aims to improve efficiency and quality, and aims to maximize operating profits, so it will pursue lower costs and more reasonable selling prices.
"After having a huge production capacity, Tesla's direct sales model has exposed its shortcomings, and the dealer model needs to be supplemented to cover a larger range of markets." In Cui Dongshu's view, the fluctuation of the second-hand car market is rooted in the fast-paced price fluctuations of new cars brought about by Tesla's direct sales model, which has not played the regulating role of dealers.
"In the past, when the price of Tesla's new car increased, we were also the beneficiaries, and the price of used cars will also rise." Li You said, "In fact, dealers also need to change their past business strategies, rely on their own ability to assess risk control risks, and actively adapt to this faster pace of market changes." ”
In Wang Meng's view, for traditional second-hand car merchants, recent policy adjustments, rising costs, weak consumption and other factors have overwhelmed enterprises. And Tesla's price cut this time may be the last straw that killed the camel.
It is foreseeable that in the future, China's second-hand car industry will be reshuffled fiercely, and more entrepreneurs and operation talents with data analysis, forward-looking judgment and refined management will be needed, and the era of speculation and brave games is over.
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Text: Zhang Zhongyue Editor: Jiao Yue Layout: Wang Kun